60 Minutes Between Life and Death
by Esthetique-of-Heaven
Summary: Lucy Heartfilia, daughter to Jude Heartfilia, and heiress of the Heartfilia conglomerate. The family that everyone desires to be in, but no one knows the truth behind their estranged relationship. When the Princess is taken from her castle and the King has to find her again you'll see how desperate a Dad can get. When a dragon comes into the mix, will he Lucy get out in time?
1. Chapter 1: Lucy

********Hello Angels! Long time no see! WELL after a whole long ass time of not posting, here is my newest story! I actually took this from my a story that I wrote back in 6th grade. I found it again after deleting a USB drive and decided that it would make a wonderful Fairy Tail fanfic. There may not be many of the Fairy Tail main characters here. This will mainly be from Lucy and Jude's point of view. So if you do not see some of your favorite characters, that is why. Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Fairy Tail characters, Hiro Mashima does.**

Lucy

5:32 am

In the darkness of a large, intricate bedroom, a cellphone sat on a nightstand next to an equally large and extravagant bed. Tucked away on the far side of the room, two large brown eyes sat fixated on the small device. Not blinking, not moving.

5:46 am

Just waiting.

5:51 am

 _*Ring Ring*_

The owner of brown eyes dashed from her seat in corner of the room towards to the device. She grasped for it and hurriedly answered.

 _"_ Yes father?"

 _Lucy? I see you're awake. I am just calling to let you know, I will be returning home late tonight. Don't bother waiting up for me. I've arranged for Mrs. Seppetto to be there later to take care of your personal needs. If you should need anything else, contact Capricorn. Today during his briefing, he will give you my instructions. That is all._

 _*click*_

And that's it.

She waited the entire night for that phone call. No 'how are you doing' or 'why are you awake at this hour'. Just business, as usual.

The girl, Lucy still doesn't get why she needs to hear from him, but she does. Her heart remains restless if she doesn't hear him, but each conversation proves he doesn't feel the same. By now, it was pretty much a simple routine.

Her father went to work early and came back late, so she never really saw him. On the rare occasions he had a day off, he was stuck in his study. Doing what you ask? Well of course, working.

She was almost thankful that she had to accompany him to those god awful banquets. They were the only reason she could see him in person.

But that's what happens when you're Lucy Heartfilia, daughter to Jude Heartfilia and heir to the Heartfilia Conglomerate. So what you've had insomnia for five years straight, your father doesn't acknowledge your existence, and you've never had a guy try to ask you out that didn't have ulterior motives.

 _'_ _you're rich and beautiful, so you can't have problems.'_

Yea. Keep telling yourself that.

Placing the phone back on the nightstand, Lucy turned towards her clock but was upset to see that it was only turning 6:05.

' _only three hours till school starts.'_

She sighed. Since 4:15 that morning, she'd already been dressed and ready. So the only other thing she could do was eat and then wait for Capricorn.

Coming out of her room, she made her way downs the spiral staircase towards the kitchen.

*beep*

She opened her phone to see a new text message.

 _A caged bird sits quietly, always wanting the sky. But when the cage is gone, all the bird can do is die._

"What the hell?" Rolling her eyes, she quickly deleted the message and resumed her rummage around the kitchen. Choosing to go exploring in the refrigerator, she opened the door and grabbed some juice in a container.

"I see I didn't need to wake you Mistress Lucy."

Closing the door, Lucy turned towards the island behind her, ignoring the sudden presence of her ever-vigilant body guard, Capricorn. The tall, lean built-man, towered over her taking up a large portion of her right periphery. His pale skin and silver hair contrasted with his standard, black suit and dark rimmed sunglasses (with goat accents on the legs), He stood at attention ready.

"Good morning, Capricorn."

placing her juice on the island counter, she turned from him and walked over to the cabinet on the other side of the kitchen. Grabbing a glass, she walked back over to her juice; pouring a glass.

"Report."

"Ma'am. I received word from Crux; there was suspicious activity around the premises last night. We sent Scorpio, Gemini, and Taurus out to investigate, but they reported no findings. Until this matter is addressed, Master has ordered that you stay inside today."

She gulped down half the cup, then slammed it back on the counter. "So, you mean I'm going to be caged up today, right?"

Behind his sunglasses, Capricorn's eyes softened at Lucy's hardened expression. The constant solitude made her quieter and more reluctant to open up to others. Not to mention the constant surveillance from her horde of body guards. His mistress stared off into nothing, waiting for his response.

"Don't think of it as a caged Miss Lucy, its only as a precaution. Isn't that right Sir?"

Lucy turned her gaze towards the left and found another younger man, a bit older than her, standing in the doorway of the kitchen. His handsome features were enhanced by his suit and glasses. Shaggy brunette (almost orange) hair was combed stylishly out of his face.

Walking closer, he bowed respectfully and stood on the other side of the island from Lucy and Capricorn.

"Leo." Lucy murmured.

The man named Leo grabbed an apple from the basket on the island and nodded towards Lucy.

"Good morning Princess." Putting the apple down, he stared at his mistress in concern. "You didn't sleep again."

Turning away from his gaze, she grabbed her cup and finished off her glass.

"Princess, we've told you again and again to try to sleep. Have you taken any of the pills the doctor gave you? What about the meditation techniques?! Or-"

"Or she just needs some time and patience." Capricorn intruded.

Lucy shot Capricorn a grateful look. Turning towards Leo once again, she gently smiled at him, one of the few times she'd ever. Grabbing the unbitten fruit from Leo's hand she placed it back in the basket and looked back at her faithful guards. Light flickering in her gaze, she smiled softly to them.

"Thank you both, but I'll be fine. Now go, you've got other things to do correct?"

Both men looked at their princess with loving stares. Capricorn went closer to her and patted her head with fatherly care.

"We will only be outside at our stations. If you need anything from us, just call and we will be there."

The two departed from her and headed out to her stations keeping watch around the Heartfilia Grounds.

After the two men left, Lucy departed back into her room; taking the opportunity to change into a pink t-shirt, sportsbra, and yoga pants. Although it was an outfit that would make Mrs. Seppetto lose her mind, Lucy didn't feel like worrying about it. Making a quick stop to the mirror, Lucy grabbed her phone and charger, to head back downstairs towards to entertainment room.

When Lucy's father first started maintaining his distance from her, she took notice of every little noise in the house. This coupled with extreme boredom made it even harder for her. To combat this, she asked her father for an entertainment room, one of the only things she ever asked him for.

Making her way to her favorite spot of pillows on the floor, Lucy grabbed the remote and turned on the television.

* _Beep Beep*_

She reached over and grabbed her device, seeing a new message from the group chat with her friends from school.

 _Lucy, you were not in first period and Cana didn't see you at your locker. I hope this doesn't mean you're skipping school today._

Looking back at the clock, Lucy realized that she'd missed part of school and forgot to tell her friends. This usually wouldn't be an issue, but not when you're friends with Erza Scarlet. Like her name suggests, the young woman had blood red hair that matched her fiery personality. As student body president, Erza kept people in line, even if they were her friends.

 _No Erza, I didn't skip. My dad put the grounds on lockdown. Apparently there were some weird people wandering around._

 _Oh no, are you gonna be safe Lu-chan?_

Smiling, Lucy couldn't help be happy seeing how worried her best friends Levy McGarden was. A small blue haired girl who rivaled Lucy in academics, the two found themselves as fast friends. One of Lucy's closest friends since she entered school.

 _I'll be fine Levy. Don't forget I've got everyone on the ground around me._

 _Yea Levs, with all the guards around, Lucy's not gonna haveta worry about a thing. But, just in case don't forget to let us know if you need something. Let some bastard try to do anything to you and I'm gonna have to show him what hell is._

 _Well thank you Cana lol I appreciate the love XD_

Another face in her group of friends, Cana Alberona, a beautiful brunette, was a girl she met later on in her school life. A perpetual alcoholic, the girl must have had a liver of steel.

 _I understand. Under those circumstances, I deem it acceptable for you to have missed classes. However, I do not approve of you not telling us. If Cana had not told me about your lack of presence between classes, I wouldn't have known you were not here._

 _Thanks Cana, I didn't know you'd rat me out like that lol_

 _Oh come on Lucy, my life was in danger. Ya know if I didn't tell her, Erza woulda killed me._

 _Cana, you're more likely to go out from alcohol poisoning than from Er-chan_

 _Listen hear Lev, I may like to have an occasional drink but I'm nowhere near death. And seeing how you like dealing with the big bad type, I think you're closer to death than I am._

Giggling, Lucy watched as the shennaigans between her friends continued. Even with her complicated and lonely life she still found happiness in moments that she could have with them.

 _It seems the bell has rung. We must get back to class. Say goodbye to Lucy and then phones away._

 _Okay! Ttyl Lu-chan. I'll call you later._

 _Yes madam war monger. See ya Lucy._

 _Bye you guys. Have a great day and don't get in any trouble._

Setting her phone down, Lucy tuned into her television and began to watch the show she found earlier.

After a few hours of watching television, playing on her phone, and vacant staring, Lucy found that she was becoming unsettled. It was when she looked at the clock that she realized something was wrong.

11:15

"Mrs. Seppettod was supposed to be here hours ago."

Still staring at the clock she was concerned at some extent about why her long time housekeep was nowhere to be found. Considering the woman served the Heartfilia family since before Lucy was born. It was very strange that she would not show up. To ease her worries, Lucy went to the call button to speak to one of the guards at the station.

"Yes Mistress Lucy?"

"Good morning Virgo. Status report on Mrs. Seppetto?"

"She has not arrived mistress. The Gemini twins are currently trying to contact her."

"I see."

"Would you like me to aid their attempts?"

"No. That will be all."

"Yes Mistress."

Releasing the call button, Lucy went back to the set of pillows and watched television once again.

11:30 am

Still no word from Mrs. Seppetto.

Actually, there was no word from anyone. For the past 15 minutes, Lucy received no word from any of her guards. Not even a status report. Becoming more worried, she reached for her phone to call her dad, when Lucy suddenly heard a noise from the kitchen. Her guards were beyond stealthy and trained many years to make sure they could cover their track. However, the noises she heard were past stealth and more along the lines of bumbling.

Slowly, she rose from her place on the pillows in front of the T.V and quietly crept down the hall, careful not to let anyone suspect she had ever even left where she was. While her father didn't care about her mental psyche, he spared no expense towards her being in peak physical condition. To that extent, he made sure Capricorn, Aquarius, and Taurus taught her how to defend herself in the slim instance someone was to attack her.

So, the first thing she made sure to do was leave on the T.V so they wouldn't be alerted that she heard them. Second step was to make sure her phone was on her and silenced. If worst came to worst, she needed to be able to alert someone, and the intruders were not on the top of her list. Nearing the kitchen, the noises stopped and there was only the sound of feet on the marble floor. As she rounded the corner, she saw the strangers wandering around the spacious room. One was a man around her age with dark skin and even darker hair and the other was a tall middle aged man, with a receding hairline, small traces of facial hair, and a strange skull on his forehead. They seemed as if they were searching for something. Even if she wanted to stay to find out what they are looking for, as they tore apart her kitchen, she chose against it. Her wild beating heart told her to run. She ran from the confusion but tripped over an end table in the hall knocking it over in the process.

"You hear that? You think it's the brat?"

"Oh hush you buffoon. The simplest solution would be for us to just see where the sound is coming from."

Lucy sprang from her spot on the floor, hearing the men coming closer. Rounding out of the entertainment room, she found herself in the foray. Choosing not to go up the stairs, she turned to go down the other hallway leading to the back porch. Once there, she would be able to make her way to the guard station in the back of the grounds.

Just as she reached the door, her hair was yanked back.

"Gotcha ya little bitch." The dark-haired male grabbed her and pulled her closer. "Where do ya think you're goin'? Jacob get your slow ass over here!"

The taller man, Jacob, was rounding the corner towards them.

"Shut your mouth Ajeel, and be careful with the girl. Our goal was to grab her, not break her neck."

"I know dammit!" the young man, Ajeel, whipped around, throwing Lucy to the group. He looked in her direction and smirked darkly. "Hot damn, had I known you'd be such a hot piece a ass, I'dve gotten here sooner. We could probably have fun later."

Disgust ran down her spine. As he undressed her with his eyes, Lucy took the opportunity to shoot her leg up and catch him right in the groin. The man called Ajeel fell to the ground hard, causing the other man Jacob to run towards them. Lucy shot up and launched herself out of the backdoor and ran around her yard towards the path that would lead her to the rear-guard station.

"Almost there." she thought. Relief starting to kick in all over her being. She was almost towards the door when it all went dark.

She fell, reaching for the door handle to her salvation. Her consciousness fading, she looked towards the small building, noticing a pair of suit clad legs off to the side. With her last bit of strength, she turned towards the side and glanced at the pair of legs beside her.

"My apologies Princess, but we can't have you running." That was her only memory before it all went dark.

 **And scene! What did you all think? I hope you enjoyed it. Please leave me a lovely review and follow this story! Till later huns. ****


	2. Chapter 2: Jude

**Jude**

Jude Heartfilia, the man who exceeds at everything he sets his mind to. Whether it be personal or professional, there is nothing he can't do. Starting life in a poor family, day by day, slowly, meticulously, Jude worked his way to the top of the corporate ladder. During his journey, he married the most beautiful woman, and they had a beautiful baby girl. Then, only two weeks after his baby was born the love of his life, Layla died and left him alone with a small young infant. Being the dedicated man he was, Jude took to raising his young daughter into a lovely woman.

There isn't anyone in the corporate world who doesn't know this story. It's been used by their PR for years and does wonders for his reputation. However, if they knew the real Jude Heartfilia, then his company would be destroyed.

His faithful and devoted father image was a company crafted façade purely for publicity. He couldn't remember the last time he ate dinner with his daughter let alone had a conversation with her. He found it in her best interest not to have anything to do with him and vice versa. Especially not after what he put her through…

Coming and going from work he thought about all those things in his head over and over and over again. In time, began to resent everything; his humble beginnings that became the source of his insecurities, his company that kept him busy constantly, his daughter who reminded him of his guilt, his beloved Layla who left him too soon, his whole life for bestowing him with all this tragedy.

Still consumed with his morbid thoughts, he glanced at the clock.

8:55 am.

Jude finally decided it was time for him to be done with his work. Shutting down his work computer and putting away his files, he glanced at the photos on his desk. His pride and joy in the center. A tri-fold picture frame of his favorite memories. On the left was Layla when he first met her, clad in a baby blue dress, bathed in sunlight, surrounded by flowers. The right most picture was of him and Layla on their wedding day. Her beautiful white dress and veil giving his love an angelic appearance. The middle photo though, hands down, was his favorite picture. His Layla sat in a hospital bed, cradling their newborn and his pride, Lucy. Two of the most precious things in his life in one picture. Nothing could be better than that. It was the first and last picture that he got to take of them.

Gently stroking the photo, he sighed and picked up his phone. Hitting the hot button, he dialed straight for Carpicorn's private number.

9:12

He knew that it was time for him check in on the Manor.

After 3 consecutive rings, we received no response. Dialing the next number, he tried Loki and Aquarius, but still no answer.

He sighed in frustration "What could she have done _now_?"

The last time his guards ignored Jude's phone call, Lucy took it upon herself to sneak out onto the grounds for a "camping adventure".

Repeatedly, he dialed, but still there was no luck from his faithful guards. His last option was to call his daughter. He knew, with much guilt, that she would be wide awake and waiting for his phone call.

 _*ring ring*_

 _*ring ring*_

 _*ring ring*_

No luck.

 _Please be safe_

With his anxiety increasing, he shut his computer down, put away his documents and told his secretary to cancel the rest of his day.

 _Please be safe_

Sprinting out of the building, he made his way to the parking garage and crashed into the driver's seat and peeled out of the parking lot.

 _Please be safe_

Jude mashed his foot onto the gas pedal, breaking the speed limit by at least 10 mph, and made a beeline for his home.

 _Please be safe_

As he pulled up to his mansion, nothing looked out of place at first glance. However, a sense of dread settled over him. He always felt anxious when he went home, but this time, he felt so much worse than usual.

Pulling up to the gate, Jude realized what bothered him. The patrol station he had made for the front of his house looked empty. At this time of day, Aries, one of the 10 guards he hired, would be standing in front of the door to the shack, greeting him. However, there was no sign of the shy young woman.

 _Please be safe_

Punching in the access code, Jude rode up the driveway, noticing how quiet and horrifyingly dead his grounds were. No lights, no signs of life, nothing.

 _Please be safe_

Arriving at the front entrance to the house, he jumped out of the car, and dashed to the front door. Fumbling with the keycode, he prayed over and over in his head.

 _Please be safe_

 _Please be safe._

Finally getting the door open, he walked into his home astonished and terrified. The furniture had been thrown about like a tornado ran through the house. All of his goods were all lying around on the floor.

Running upstairs, he found that it resembled the first floor all too well. Going from room to room, the belongs and good that he amassed in the past few years were all either torn, shattered, strewn about, or just missing. But that was the least of his worries.

"Lucy!"

Running to her room, he ducked inside and found it empty. Just as ravaged as the rest of the house, but still empty. Turning on his heel, Jude made his way back downstairs and fled to the entertainment room. He knew that this was his daughter's favorite place to be. Looking around, he found that it was just as empty. Literally. The television, the DVDs, the games; everything that made it an 'entertainment room', was gone.

However, that was still the least pressing thought to him. Retreating to towards the back entrance, he saw that the door remained open. Grabbing anything solid that could be a weapon, he ran around the back portion of his grounds.

"Lucy! Lucy!"

Rushing to the back most guard station, Jude still found that there was no sign of anyone.

Staring in shock he stood in the middle of the grounds mind blank.

 _Please be safe_

Still in a daze he stumbled back his house, blankly calling out "Lucy... Please be safe."

With the dread and sadness creeping in, he slowly walked back to his front door to go to the police. Just as he neared the front door he saw it. Neatly typed out and delicately left on the small table near the door was his only clue to finding his little girl. Picking up his cell, he dialed 911.

"911 Operator, do you need police, fire, or medical emergency?"

Blankly, he responded. "Police, I need to report a kidnapping."


	3. Chapter 3: Into the Dungeon

**Well Angels, I decided to surprise you all and give you another chapter. I plan to give you a few more over the next few days so stay tuned!**

 **Without further ado. I do not own Fairy Tail nor any of the characters represented. All rights are reserved for Hiro Mashima save for the plot.**

 **The Dungeon**

Lucy woke up, disoriented and in pain. The left side of her head was throbbing and her wrists and ankles hurt.

 _Plop, Plop, Plop._

In the dark, she sat. Listening. Counting. Concentrating. A steady drop of water came from somewhere in the room. _Probably a pipe or a drain._ In another direction, she heard muffled voices. _So the guys who kidnapped me are probably still here._

From all her training with Capricorn, she knew that in the cases of emergencies and kidnapping, listening was the difference between staying alive or not. It was dark but she felt something on her face and something with a gritty cloth-like texture in her mouth.

Bound and gagged. Great.

Shifting her body a bit, she found that the restraints on her hands weren't as tight as she thought. Wiggling her hands, she managed to loosen the knot. Taking a break to listen to her surrounding for her assailants, she resumed her endeavors to be released. After an unknown amount of time, she finally managed to free her left hand.

"Patience really does pay off." she quietly gloated. Her guard Virgo always told her to be patient and her efforts would be rewarded. Lucy made a mental note to thank Virgo when she got the chance.

She made quick work of the bindings around her legs and eyes then snatched out the gag in her mouth. It took a while for her eyes to adjust to the darkness but after a moment she was able to see her surroundings. There she sat in the middle of a dark and dirty room that was entirely too cramped. The only light came from an extremely dim florescent wall lamp in the corner and the sliver of light from under the door. It was noisy from the other side of the door, like someone yelling.

Steadily she rose to her feet, very unsteady. Checking her person, she still had on the clothes from earlier, minus any form of shoes. Save for her clothes, she had no other possession on her.

 _No way to defend herself_.

Cursing her luck, Lucy looked around the room again, hoping to see any form of escape. To her dismay, the only way out was door in the center of the room. The door where, on the other side, all of the voices were cranking out. Looking closely, she saw gap from where the door met the wall, most likely due to ware and tare. Finding a stool on the far side of the room, Lucy quietly walked it to the door and used it to see just enough of the opening, out into a large warehouse. Like an industrial garage, the warehouse was dusty and dirty, just like the room she was in. Save for a few pieces of furniture, the warehouse was devoid of any material things, however, what it lacked in items, it made up for with people.

Standing single file were a group of people ranging in various ages, genders, and body types. Immediately, she noticed the Jacob and Ajeel standing towards the beginning of the line. The people were deathly quiet and still as another person walked up and down the line, no sudden movements or anything of the sort. His dark hair seemed to absorb any form of light that would be in the room. Although he didn't seem too much older than many of the people standing, the way he carried himself gave him an air of power. He was dressed fairly lax, with a pair of dark slacks and an even darker shirt, this boss, or who she assumed to be, stalked up and down the line,

Hands clasped behind his back, he slowed his steps, "Would anyone like to tell me where we messed up today?"

Silence.

His footsteps echoed in the empty room space as he continued walking up and down the line. "Jacob." Said man froze in his place, face paling. "Tell me. What was the point of the mission today?"

Jacob stepped forward from the line "Zeref sir, our job was to check the mansion for the key to the Hargeon safe sir."

"Correct Jacob." Relieved, said man stepped back in line, "so if that was our job then, Ajeel, why is it that we currently have a guest in the back room?"

Ajeel jumped forward, all his arrogance and rudeness was replaced with respect. "Ummm sir, we didn't know she would be home. When we cased the place sh-"

Before the thoughts could finish, the man named Zeref flew to Ajeel's side and had his hand around the young man's neck. Zeref's palm fixed around Ajeel's neck, squeezing. The sinister man remained calm while he squeezed the life from the young man.

"And **this** is why I told you to make sure you do as much recon as possible. It doesn't matter if you think. I didn't ask for you to think. Your **task** Ajeel, was to find a key. Not his daughter."

The way he enunciated his words and spoke with such harsh coldness, Lucy recognized it as the person who knocked her out earlier in the day. Through her peep hole she could see how the peopel where fearfully listening to his every word and watching as Ajeel's body was beginning to go limp. However, instead of holding on much longer, Zeref instead decided to slam his face into the cement. It took all of Lucy's will power not to scream at this act of brutality. There was nothing but utter silence while the rest of the people looked at every other spot in the building that wasn't Ajeel's motionless body.

Having seen enough, Lucy slowly lowering herself down from her stool. Picking it up, she tried to quietly tiptoe away from the door. Unfortunately, she tripped on the cloth that bound her earlier, and dropped the stool.

"Well well well everyone. Do you hear that? I think our little princess has awakened from her slumber."

 **And that's it for this chapter! I know it was short, but I wanted to make it suspenseful. Like I said earlier, there will be a few more chapters this weekend, so enjoy them. While you're at it, please leave me a lovely review so I can hopefully make this story better for you all.**

 ****HEAVEN****


	4. Chapter 4: The Next Step

**Hi Angels! Thank you all so much for the reviews. I feel so much better knowing everyone is reading my story and that you're enjoying it so much. It makes me want to make it perfect. Speaking of perfect! I'm literally jumping in my skin with excitement. The BBMA (Billboard Music Awards) are tonight and one of my favorite Kpop groups BTS are going to be there! I'm so excited! LIKE OMG OMG OMG I DON'T KNOW HOW TO DEAL! And i'm calm. Okay without further ado ( I know you didn't wanna hear all this)**

 **I do not own Fairy Tail nor any of the characters. Fairy Tail is the property of Hiro Mashima.**

 **The Next Step**

The officers were at his home as soon as he told them the address. Digging through all the garbage, dusting for fingerprints, taping off areas of the house, in no time at all the house looked like something out of **_CSI: Crime Scene Investigation._** During their search, the officers managed to find all 10 of his guards. Each had been meticulously gassed in their stations that caused their incapacitation. Jude couldn't even find it in him to be upset with them. As they all lay there recovering, each of them looked just as hurt and lost as he felt.

While the police continued to survey his home, he wasn't allowed inside. Instead they kept him outside to question him extensively.

 _Do you know of any enemies to you?_

 _Do you know of anyone that would want to hurt your daughter?_

If he knew the answer to this, he wouldn't have wasted his time calling the cops to his house. Waiting for the last cop to finish questioning him, Jude's thoughts kept running back to the ransom note.

 _Thank you for the gift, but we want the key. Give us our treasure and you'll get back yours._

Confused, he kept mulling it over in his head. The perpetrators wouldn't have to know much about his personal life to assume that Lucy was his everything. While it took much to convince her, his daughter proved to be the only source of light that made his life worth living. But what the hell was this key? He had many keys that unlocked many secure things in his life. As a company CEO, that was prerequisite. Which only begged the question of which key did they want?

He sat on the bottom stair of his porch, and fished the note out of his pocket, analyzing the tiny piece of paper.

"You know, if you stare at it long enough, that won't make her come back."

At the smooth voice, Jude looked up from the note to find a tall slender built woman, Aquarius. Her long blue hair combed back and pulled into a braid accompanied with her standard black suit, gave her an air of her eyes, red and bleary, conveyed her weakness. The woman had been one of the first guards that he employed when the Heartfilia Corporation took off. She and Layla became the best of friends, and served as a guiding hand for Lucy after Layla's passing.

"How are you feeling Aquarius?" He pushed the note into his pocket, staring off into the distance.

"Sir, I'm so sorry. If only I'd been on guard, this would have never happened."

"I only asked how you were Aquarius." He looked at the blue haired woman. His eyes just as heavy as hers

"Sir..."

"There was nothing you could have done Aquarius. The police said this was an attack that was planned. The perpetrators watched us for god only knows how long in order to plan accordingly. If anyone is at fault, it would me for making Lucy stay home. I was so certain that she would be safe at home, but I was a fool. I've always been a fool."

"If I may, I'm sure Miss Layla wouldn't call you a fool. Anyone could see that you miss her and we, your guards, all know how much Lucy means to you."

"Thank you."

During their talk, an old silver 1981 Crown Victoria pulled in front of his driveway. Two men departed the vehicle, the driver, a large man with a sunset brown hair that came to his shoulders. He wore black leather jacket, dark charcoal jeans, and black shades. His partner, the passenger was a large man as well, who, although younger, was much more muscular. The passenger had blonde hair that was slicked back out of his face. He had a long black trench coat, black jeans, and a deep purple shirt.

The made their way up the pathway, being stopped by the other officers on the scene already. As they spoke, Jude noticed the frequency with which he was glanced at. Finally the man with the brunette hair pushed pass the officers and made his way up to where Alex sat, his partner in tow.

"Beautiful morning."

Managing a stiff laugh Jude shot back at him "Yes, everything about this morning screams beautiful. My house in pieces, police covering my property, and my daughter gone god knows where. Yes sir, the word beautiful is exactly what speaks to me."

Giving him a nonchalant shrug the man held out his hand "Detective Gildarts Clive. The man to my left is my partner,"

"Laxus Dreyer. A pleasure."

"We're here to do what they aren't," jutting his finger over towards the other officers

"And that is Mr. Clive?"

"Find your daughter."

With dead eyes, Jude looked up at Gildarts and Laxus "What makes you so different from the cops that have torn apart my home."

Placing a gentle hand on his shoulder, Laxus smiled, "I can speak with certainty, we won't rest until Miss Lucy is back home with you safe and sound, that's a promise."

For the first time that night, Jude felt some sort of security. With one look at the men Jude could tell they would keep their word. Looking back to Aquarius, who nodded to him, he reached in his pocket and pulled out the paper. The key to getting his daughter back.

 **And this is the end of this chapter! I hope you all enjoy and don't forget to leave me a lovely review! Also, watch the BBMAs just for the hell of it. See you in the next chapter.**

 ****Heaven****


	5. Chapter 5: Enter the Dragon

**Hello Angels! I'm sorry I didn't get this other chapter out in time. I totally was going to and then the BBMAs happened and I wasn't paying attention. So...yea. But! I'm here now with this new installment of 60mins. We're gonna bring in a nice friend now ^w^. Hope you're ready.**

 **Let's begin ...I do not own Fairy Tail nor any of it's characters. Those are all the precious property of Hiro Mashima.**

 **Enter the Dragon**

As the voices got closer an idea crept into Lucy's mind. Dashing to the other side of the room, she dropped the stool and grabbed her restraints. Placing them back over her mouth, eyes, ankles and finally, her hands. When the door finally did open, Lucy did her best impression of a fish out of water. Flailing around, she could hear her kidnappers laughing at her. Though humiliation burned in the back of her throat, she ignored it for the fear of survival.

At her continued movements, heavy hand came down on her throat stilling her body. The cloth was torn from her eyes and she saw a large man whose body was covered head to toe with clothes, a thick hooded jacket covered his face and a face mask covered the rest of his features.

"Now now Badman, that isn't how we should treat our guest." Coming from around the larger man was the man from earlier, Zeref. A sly grin on his face the Zeref moved the man's hand helped Lucy sit up. Learning forward, he pushed her hair out of her face, "Well princess, you woke up earlier than I thought you would."

Snapping his fingers, she was hauled over the shoulders of another large man who brought her into the warehouse. From her limited view, she was finally able to see how large the room was and that there was furniture there as well. Just as quickly as her observation began, it ended with her being dropped onto one of the couches that looked like it had seen better days. Dazed she looks around at all of the menacing stares.

Putting on the bravest face she could she looked each person square in the face. "What a fierce princess we've got here." Zeref grabbed a chair and sat in front of her.

With his expectant eyes, she finally noticed that her gag was gone, "If a ransom is what you're looking for, you've taken the wrong girl. My father won't bat an eye at me being gone. All you've done is help his PR."

Zeref shook his head and "We really didn't want you in the first place." giving his subordinates a deadly look he continued "I just wanted something out of your family home, but, now that his little princess is here I think we can get that and a little more."

From out of the corner of the room a voice came shouted "Since when has kidnapping been a thing we do ZerZer."

It took all Lucy had not to crack up at this absurd and obvious nickname. _ZerZer?_

Irritation crept over the man's face as he yelled back "Natsu! What have I told you about this idiotic name."

"What's wrong big bro? I've called you that for years."

Zeref's head snapped over to the direction of the voice. Following his gaze over to the corner Lucy's eyes were treated to the sexiest man she's ever seen. He had to be a year or two older than her. He had shoulder length pink hair and a nice tan body that was complimented with a muscular frame. Clothing that great body was a black suit, similar to Zeref's, however, he had a red shirt, buttoned low and untucked. _Because why the fuck not?_ His sleeves were rolled up to his forearms, showing off more of his arms.

However, even with all of that in his favor, what really set Lucy's heart ablaze were his eyes. This new stranger had dark onyx eyes that stared in her direction, into her soul. The boy, Natsu, smiled and Lucy's world seemed to light up. Even if her life was in danger.

He stood up and walked over towards her and Zeref, slinging an arm over Lucy's shoulders, his scent, summer and cinnamon overtaking her senses.

"This whole ransom is a bit too good to be true don't you think ZerZer. I just receive word from one of our sources that the cops were there. Best idea or us would be to string her up, call her pops, and tell him to bring the key. Keeps both hands clean."

And with those eloquent words, everything that Lucy thought of Natsu disappeared. He was no better than the rest of these Neanderthals.

Zeref dismissed Natsu with a hand gesture, "Natsu, I need you to have more faith in your big brother. I have a plan."

"And what would that be?"

A startling smile crept over his lips as he looked at Natsu and Lucy, "I thought that that would be obvious, we're going give him a call. We have his cell remember?"

Lucy rolled her eyes, "Well whatever you choose to do, could you leave me out of it. As I told you all before, taking me doesn't mean you'll get anything."

Shaking his head, Natsu patted Lucy's shoulder chuckling in her ear, "Princess, you've gotta have more faith in yourself. You're much more valuable than you give yourself credit for."

Zeref shook his head in agreement, "I must agree with my brother. You're gravely underestimating the devotion your father has for you. Which is a wonderful thing for the two of you to work out once this whole mess is behind us." He smiled towards her and the pink haired male menacingly "Which is why you'll be a good girl and wait for us right here princess." He then turned his attention to Natsu "And of course you'll be here to watch our princess, little brother."

He tried his best to look like it didn't bother him but Lucy could tell by the look in his eyes, Natsu didn't like how that played out. If being with her dad taught her one thing, it was noticing disappointment.

Standing from his chair, the black haired devil smiled and regarded the rest of his subordinants, "Well everyone, change of plans. My lovely little brother has so graciously decided to watch our esteemed guest while we take a little field trip."

Laughter filtered through the group. As they all filed out Zeref turned back towards Natsu "Take care of our princess. We'll be back in an hour at the most." shutting the door and leaving her with mister tall, bright and incredibly sexy.

 **Well Angels? What do you think? Leave me a lovely review pretty please!**


	6. Chapter 6: Call for Help

**Beautiful Angels! I love you all! So much so that I brought you all another chapter. I really hope you enjoy it. Quick question, how many of you love anime. In that same question, how many of you like Bleach. I'm only asking because I'm watching it again from start to finish right now, and i'm really enjoying myself. XD But anyways, I digress...**

 **I do not own Fairy Tail nor any of the characters, all rights are reserved for Hiro Mashima.**

 **ENJOY!**

 **Call for Help**

A police station, the last place Jude ever wanted to be, or ever thought he'd be. It was nothing like the ones he saw on television. The lobby was big enough with desks dotting every available inch. Each with paperwork all over them. Phones rung in every direction and officers carried people in and out. It was dirty with a couple of drink and snack machines here and there.

 _Definitely a place I don't want to be._

When he, Gildarts, and Laxus walked into the room every eye seemed to be on them, but who could blame them. It wasn't every day that someone like Jude Heartfilia walked into a police station, especially not for a kidnapping. They made their way to the back offices, one with **_Gildartz Clive, Detective_** written on the glass.

Fancy.

As they walked in, Laxus sat in the left seat in front of the desk, leaving the right seat for Jude. Which left Gildarts who sat down behind the desk. Pushing some files out of the way, he interlocked his fingers, placing his chin on top, and regarded Jude "At the moment other than your ransom note we have nothing. I'm not sure if it was a good or bad thing that you kept it on you. If we got it sooner, the lab could have processed it for fingerprints, however, I'm not sure you would have gotten it back in the same condition with the guys they sent out. Although it's a high-profile case, they send out a bunch of rookies and incompetent ass wipes. But I digress. The break-in itself looked like it was sloppily done but that was just to fool us." he pushed his hair from his face "sadly it worked."

Jude, tired and haggard, did his best to keep his cool, "So is there anything you can do?"

"I never said, I would give up. Just that things are going to be difficult."

Laxus, leaned over and grabbed a few files off the desk, handing them to Jude, "Before we left, I went around the premises once again and found these" Jude took out various photos of footprints and something that looked like string. "That's the hair from one of the culprits. We've got two sets of footprints. Which we just got back from the lab. We now know the size and shoe type of the shoes that the culprits have."

"And how does this help."

"It was more than what we had before."

Throwing the files back onto the table, Jude regarded both men coldly

 _Dammit_

"I asked you both earlier, and I'll ask again, how does this make you any different from the cops earlier. Your job is to 'help me' but that just your job, right?" He laughed lifelessly "I realize you may not care too much but my daughter's life is on the line. I realize you have no reason to care but-"

 _Slam!_

Coming out of his tirade, Jude looked back to Gildarts, his cold eyes staring the CEO down, not a care given. Reclining into his chair, Gildarts picked up a picture frame and handed it over Jude. Receiving the frame, Jude looked over at Laxus, who's demeanor matched his partner's. Throwing caution to the wind, Jude flipped over the frame and saw that there was a total of 6 smaller photos in the frame. They were mainly compilation photos of one young woman, a beauty in her own right, with chocolate hair and grey eyes, who looked to be around the same age as Lucy. In each picture the young woman is mostly alone, save for the one in the center.

There she stood at the center of a group of peers her age laughing happily. The closest to the young woman in question were other girls her age, presumably her best friends. Their hair colors ranged from red, to blues, white, and-

"Lucy?"

Jude looked back up at Gildarts, bewildered by this new information. The man in question humorlessly chuckled regarded Jude once again, just as coldly as before.

"Lucy Heartfilia, age 17, a student of Fairy Tail academy and daughter to Jude and Layla Heartfilia. Although she lives a life a luxury, she is a young woman with many things plaguing her." Reaching forward, he grabbed he frame from Jude, "when Cana brought her to our house two years ago, I had asked to meet her parents, the cop in me just couldn't let it go. She explained the situation with her mother, however, every time I asked to meet you instead, she always said you were busy. And for the life of me, I never understood how you could _always_ be busy."

Jude looked down at his hands in his lap, guilt over taking him. "Academic awards, competitions, exams, dances; things that any parent should be there for, I never saw you. Never even knew if you were alive; until now."

Gildarts stood up from his chair and walked over to the door passing Jude's hunched over form "Come with me Laxus, we have to go check the lab and see what they've got for us." At that, Laxus too stood from his chair and made his way out the door, never once regarding Jude in the process.

Before he walked out, Gildarts stopped by the door, and looked over his shoulder. "You asked what stake I have in this. Don't be mistaken, I'm not doing this for you. I'm doing this for my daughter, who would be devastated if she lost her best friend and for a girl who I regard as my own, who is probably scared out of her mind right now. _That's_ my stake in this."

With that, Gildarts left a tired and saddened Jude alone in the office. Since when has his daughter had such friends? Why is it he never knew about these friends? Why is it that he never heard about any of these events?

 _Why?_

He buried his head in his hands.

 _But you know why?_

The guilt and remorse came back.

 _When was the last time you asked? Why should you be the one to know? What right do you have?_

"But I'm her father."

 _What father? You're just like a run of the mill sperm bank._

"I love her. She's all I have."

 _How can you love her? You don't even know her. You don't even care to know about her._

"But I can still be there. I want to be there for her but I…"

"Just do it. What's stopping you?"

Jude jerked up to see Laxus, a tissue extended to him. Reaching his hand up to his face, he felt moisture. Tears. When was the last time he cried? He grabbed the tissue from Laxus who waited patiently for him to compose himself.

Leaning back on the desk, Laxus crossed his arms and looked out the glass of the door, "Gildarts didn't meet his daughter until she was 16 years old. His first wife divorced him because he was the type to be consumed by his work. This is also the reason he never knew his wife was pregnant until much later. Cana had been shipped around from family member to family member for around 10 years. He found her again during a drug raid. Her living conditions were abysmal and she had to regain her trust from the ground up."

"Why are you telling me this? I'm sure he doesn't want his personal business out."

"Neither did you, but shit happens. My partner has a lot of faults, but the love he holds for his daughter is the purest out there. The anger he has comes from a man who was in your situation but chose to treasure his kid."

"I am treasuring her. I'm treasuring her the best way I can. I have no right to be close to her anymore but…"

"But?"

Running a hand down his face, Jude felt the vibration from his phone.

 _Who could it be now_?

Looking over at Laxus for the okay, Jude took his phone out of his pocket and answered it.

"Hello? Jude Heartfilia speaking."

At first there was static then a dark voice rang from the other end "You've got a very beautiful daughter." "She's been well trained."

Panic and relief ran through Jude. Shooting a look to Laxus, the other man hopped up and ran out the door, calling his partner. With the officer gone, Jude returned to the conversation, anger seeped in his words, "Where. Is. My. Daughter."

A low chuckle ran through the line as the voice toyed with him. "She's safe, for now. However, until I get what I want, I can't guarantee that safety."

The two men ran back into the office, keeping the noise to a minimum. Jude looked at the both of them, defeat written all over his face. He looked desperately at Gildarts and got a reassuring smile in return. Said man placed a hand on his shoulders and nodded for him to continue. With newfound strength, Jude held his head high and asked in a stern tone,

"Where is my daughter?"

 **Well? What do you all think? Is it starting to get interesting? I hope! Don't forget to leave me a lovely review so I can see how I did okay? Until then Angels**

 ****Heaven****


	7. Chapter 7: Plans

**Hello Angels! I'm back with another installment of 60 Minutes. I just had a feeling deep down that you'd like to see another chapter before the night was out. I don't know how many this makes it, but it should keep you all satisfied for a bit right? I hope, you know I live to please (if you didn't know before , you know now) XD Well without further ado**

 **I do not own Fairy Tail nor any of its characters. All rights are reserved by Hiro Mashima.**

 **Plans**

Her situation seemed to go from bad to worse. Getting kidnapped by a bunch of hooligans, dragged into a musty warehouse, and rendered incapacitated. At this moment, Lucy situation seemed bleak. She looked over at the door wondering when it was going to open. She gave up on the idea pretty soon when she remembered how long the others would be gone. An hour stuck with Mr. Prince Charming, or should she say not-so-charming. Looking in his direction she saw he was staring at her intently.

It scared her but also made her blush. _But just a bit_.

"What are you staring at?!"

Shaking his head, he looked her in the eyes, no malice, just genuine concern "I'm just wondering about what you said to Zeref earlier." He cocked his head to the side, in an enticingly cute way "About your dad not caring about you and stuff. It really doesn't make since that he cares nothing about you."

Lucy tilted her head to the back and laughed a long hearty laugh. Much to Natsu's confusion. After she calmed down, she looked back towards him. "That's why I said you made a mistake taking me. I'm just here to make him look good. Business men don't look too well when they have no one to come home to."

Natsu's eyes were still trained on her, filled with just as much confusion as when the conversation began, if not more. She sighed and looked away from his direction "My mother died a couple weeks after I was born. According to everyone who knew her, I look just like her."

She regained eye contact with him,"He loved her more than anything. Even me. I'm sure that's why he blames me for her death."

His onxy eyes stared at her with a newfound intensity, Natsu regarded her, taking in this information "Ok but, explain this to me. If that were the case then why would he call the police and do all he did if he cared nothing about you? Why not just kick you to the curb or something?"

Giving her own crazed laugh again, she genuinely smiled at his questions "Like I told you earlier, I'm just a doll to make sure her looks good. Anyways. why do you care? It really shouldn't matter to the person who took me captive."

Shaking his head Natsu's eyes conveyed deeper emotions than just the curiosity they held earlier "Well I have to make sure that you get home safely."

Tilting her head in surprise Lucy scoffed "Really? Well you sure have a strange way of showing that concern to get me home safely."

They kept their eyes locked "You are wanted by your father, and we do want to get you home. It was an accident that you got involved in this mess. Our job was just to get something back from him, nothing more. I'm sorry you got into this mess."

A hard roll of the eyes was sent his way, "Well excuse me if I don't believe the words of a criminal like you."

Shrugging off her insult he sat down in the chair in front of her, "I don't blame you for not trusting me, but let me tell you now that I am not a criminal." staring into her eyes he continued "I don't want to do this, but I have a debt to the person who hired me, I've got to get something from your dad. To tell you the truth, he's the real criminal."

"That's rich coming from the person sitting across from an abductee. What could he have possibly done to your 'employer' ?"

Natsu chuckled then rustled a hand full of pink "Well, from what I heard, the company he owns now once belonged to my employer. Supposedly he they worked on it together but when the company's liability was being tested your father framed my employer and fired him. Now all he wants is to get all the things your father took from him."

There was a short silence between them until it was broken by Lucy's laughter. For, what seemed like, the 100th time, Natsu gave her a surprised and concerned look.

 _Is this girl alright_ became a prevailing thought in his head

Finally regaining her composure, she looked over at him "That really doesn't surprise me, that seems like something that he would do to someone." Repositioning herself, Lucy checked the loose restraints she put on herself earlier.

"If you're wondering about your ropes, they're still loose. You can move your hands."

She looked over at him, fear creeping into her. How did he know?

"It's easy to see you weren't tied up. I've been tied up before, you could move your shoulders too much. Its fine. I don't think you should be tied up any longer."

Watching him warily, she let go of her restraints and freed her own hands. Nursing her bruised hands, she kept her eyes trained on the handsome stranger.

"About what you said earlier. My father and your employer, how much of that was true?"

"From what I gathered from my employer? All of it, but that's just with what he said."

She nodded, of course her father would ruin someone's life for his own personal gain.

"So, what's this favor you owe him? Your employer I mean?"

"Oh? So the princess finally takes interest in the dragon?"

"Forget I asked." Although stupid he fished a laugh out of her. "And please stop it with this princess stuff. If there's one thing I hate, its being called princess."

The male reclined back into his chair in a relaxed manner, "Well, if you say so Luigi."

"My name is not Luigi."

"Oops. Sorry about that."

"Sure you are." Pausing an idea popped in head. "Nathan."

"Ew." His incredibly handsome face scrunched up in disgust "Nathan, really? If you're gonna come up with a shitty name for me, at least try to make it sound more appealing."

"Like Luigi sounds appealing?"

"Touché" He paused and looked her over. His stare caused an unhealthy blush to form. "Luce."

"What?"

"That's gonna be my name for you. Luce."

"Why are you so adamant on making a name for me?"

"Don't you always give special names to things that are special? I thought that was obvious weirdo."

 _Was he flirting with her? No…he couldn't…_

She avoided his eyes and took to looking around the building instead. Silence passed through the two as she took in the warehouse fully. Noting every window or door, she committed each to memory. Finding it in her to ask where they went to make that important phone call.

 _*Ring ring ring*_

Natsu pulled out a cellphone and quickly connected it "Yea?...What?! Dammit…Okay well do you have a different plan? Fuck. That's not much of a plan Zeref." He ran his hand through his hand in frustration, "yea, I get it. Okay, just do what you've got to do."

Closing his phone, Natsu leaned back in his chair.

"Natsu?"

"I didn't want to believe it, but you might have been right about your old man Luce"

"What?"

"That was Zeref, he just spoke with your dad. Apparently, the deal with south and he tried to set up a sting on them. Zeref told him to just cooperate and you'd be back safe. Now Zeref isn't happy and my employer definitely won't be either."

Looking at Natsu, the gravity of the situation sunk in. Her life really was in danger. Weighing a battle out in her head, Lucy took a deep breath and formulated a plan of her own.

"Natsu. Get me in touch with your boss. I want to work with him."

 **Dun dun dun~ What a way to end a chapter, am I right? lol I wonder what Lucy's gonna do next? (I'm really not wondering, I already know). Anyways, my wonderful Angels, please don't forget to leave me a review! Till then~**

 ****Heaven****


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